The present invention relates generally to a process for manufacturing precision guide rollers for video tape recorders (VTR). More specifically, the invention relates to a high-precision cutting process in guide roller production. The present invention further relates to an apparatus which performs the process according to the invention.
In general, a guide roller comprises a cylindrical guide roller sleeve with annular bearing and and oil-seal inserted into an axial opening through the roller sleeve. The bearing is made of a sintered metal impregnated with oil. Such guide rollers, particularly guide rollers for VTR's and so forth, which will be referred to hereafter as "VTR guide rollers", must be machined to a smooth and very even surface finish.
Various attempts have been made to provide satisfactorily precise surfacing processes for VTR guide rollers. Conventional manufacturing processes for VTR guide rollers have unsatisfactorily low yields, resulting in high production costs.